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rhubarb pound cake bundt #bundtbakers

When it comes to bundt cakes, I do my best to be creative and keep things interesting.

Having been a member of a monthly bundt baking group for over a year now, I’m always looking for new sources of inspiration and fun new ways to play with flavors and ingredients. I definitely have a few favorites out of all the cakes I’ve made since joining, but you may be surprised to know what my favorite kind of bundt cake is. When I’m not trying to get creative to fit a #bundtbakers theme, I like to keep things nice and simple.

Can you guess what my favorite bundt might be?

I bet most of you guessed chocolate. While I do love me some chocolate, that would be my second favorite.

One more guess…

Give up?

Lemon!

A simple lemony pound cake is tops in my book. Both dense and delicate at once, with a bright sunny citrus flavor front and center, it doesn’t get any better than that. I don’t know what it is about a citrusy pound cake, but I will just never ever get enough. The best thing about a lemon pound cake is how versatile it can be if you want to pair it with other flavors. Lemon is a perfect compliment to almost any fruit you can name. Think about it. Berries. Cherries. Stone fruit. Tropical fruit. Even other citrus! Lemon is like the little black dress of bundt cakes.

Do you have a favorite bundt cake? Well don’t keep it a secret! What is it?

Being the lemon lover I am, I did a very mature and completely dignified jump for joy when I found out that Anne of From My Sweet Heart chose Lemon as the #bundtbakers theme for June. Thank you Anne!

If you love lemon just as much as I do (or at least almost as much as I do) you MUST scroll down past the recipe to check out all the other recipes this month. Just reading through the list of titles has me drooling.

First I thought about just doing a simple lemon buttermilk pound cake, and while I’m sure I would have loved it, I wanted to do just a little bit more with this month’s sublimely summery theme. Berries would have been a great way to go, but just before joining #bundtbakers I came up with a recipe for a lemony blueberry buttermilk bundt cake that would knock your socks off. It’s so good, in fact, that it was just featured in the summer issue of Sweet Paul Magazine! Woot woot!

So that was out. Knowing this month’s theme I’m kicking myself for not keeping that one in my pocket just a little bit longer.

What else? What else?

Sometimes there are just too many amazing possibilities to be able to choose just one.

Rather than agonize over all the choices I figured I should just go about my business and let the inspiration come to me.

On my birthday last month Russell took me to lunch in Williamsburg and afterward we went for coffee at one of my favorite coffee shops. While waiting in line we passed their pastry case and inside we saw a neat little row of thick slices of rhubarb pound cake. Of course we had to try some. While their coffee never disappoints, the pound cake unfortunately did. The texture was great, and the sweetness was spot on, but it lacked in that tart rhubarb flavor that I was expecting, and their was no actual rhubarb visible anywhere in the slice. As soon as the words, “I could do better” came out of my mouth, I knew what I had to do.

Pound cake. Tart rhubarb. Summery lemon. It was on.

This pound cake is just as dense and buttery and eggy as a good pound cake should be, with just a tiny bit of extra lift thanks to the addition of a bit of baking powder. The crumb is moist and tender and perfect, with just enough sweetness to offset the tart rhubarb and compliment the bright lemon. Rather than pureeing it, the rhubarb is left in small chunks so you can see what you’re eating. An entire pound of rhubarb (4 whole cups) gets tossed with a bit of sugar and cooked for a few minutes before going into the cake batter. This way the rhubarb not only softens a bit, but also releases some of it’s juices to ensure the flavorful juice is distributed throughout the whole cake. A touch of lemon zest and juice is the perfect bright compliment to the sweetened rhubarb, and a simple lemon glaze is the only finishing touch this summery pound cake could ask for.

mix the cut rhubarb with 1/2 cup of the sugar in a medium frypan or skillet. Cook over medium high heat until tender but not mushy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl), cream together the butter, remaining 2 cups sugar, and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between additions. In a large measuring cup mix together the buttermilk, lemon juice, and vanilla; and in a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Alternate 3 additions of flour and 2 additions of buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, mixing until just incorporated after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and gently fold in the rhubarb and any juices until the liquid is just combined and the rhubarb is evenly distributed.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center of he cake comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool for about 20 minutes. Invert pan to release cake onto the rack and cool completely before adding the glaze.

Whisk all ingredients together until well mixed and free of lumps. If a thinner consistency is desired, add a bit more lemon juice (about 1 teaspoon at a time). For a thicker consistency add more powdered sugar about 1/4 cup at a time until desired consistency is reached.

Evenly drizzle the glaze over the completely cooled cake. Cake can be served immediately but can be stored, tightly wrapped and air tight at room temperature, for about 3 days.

This list of lovely luscious lemon cakes has my mouth watering like crazy. This month’s theme is pure heaven and I couldn’t be happier to gawk and drool over this long list of tasty bundts.

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#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving Bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all of our lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board right here.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme or ingredient.

Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers can be found on our homepage.

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63 comments

So well put that the lemon pound cake/bundt cake is the “little black dress” of cakes. I love it and agree 100 percent!
Beautiful, beautiful job Tux on your bundt this month – it is stunning visually and I am sure delicious too :-)

Your cake is beautiful — I would eat it! We have tried using rhubarb in a variety of cakes and breads and not found it very satisfying. The tart flavor gets buried under all the flour. Using 4 cups and a kicker of lemon must help that.

I definitely do think adding the lemon helps make sure the flavor is nice and tart, and using plenty of rhubarb makes sure it comes through. I almost want to try it again without the lemon just so see how well the rhubarb flavor stands out without the lemon to boost it.
Next time!

Thank you Debbie! I was upstate visiting my mom and helping her landscape her new house and fix up her dining room last week. I photographed a recipe and got it ready to go so I could write the post while I was away, but after landscaping all day I had no energy for writing at night!
You’ll be seeing it soon though!

I was waiting especially for this one, Tux! We love rhubarb at our house, when we can get it, and often pair it in pie with tart apples and a little lemon juice. But I have yet to put it in a cake. This must be rectified soon! I love that you cooked it just a little but there are still spots of red and green visible. Feast for the eyes as well as the mouth!

Absolutely spectacular Bundt Cake, Tux, congratulations!! It looks mouth watering to me, the combination with rhubarb sounds so good, was one of my favourite things as a child :-) Sunshine from Spain -xx-

Chocolate and rum sounds like a pretty great favorite to me! Anything with a bit of booze is A-Okay in my book! haha.
Sometimes I find the rhubarb hiding near the strawberries at my local market, but it might just not be very popular in your area. It is supposed to be easy to grow I think.

Dear Tux, I too love lemons in my dessert. There is nothing better than a slice of lemon cake to conclude a summer dinner. This pound cake looks beautiful, especially with the rhubarb in the center. Cheers, Catherine

I’m start starting to get familiar with pound cake, it’s not recognized here in the UK, so I love that you’ve created a rhubarb one being a great rhubarb enthusiast. This cake looks absolutely wonderful, I’d love a slice right now even though it’s only 9am. Laura@ Baking in Pyjamas